Encyclopedia of Microtonal Music Theory

minor-2nd / minor second / min2 / m2

[Joe Monzo]

The smaller of the two diatonic intervals which encompass 2 degrees of the of the diatonic scale. The minor-2nd is synonymous with the diatonic semitone, and is one chromatic semitone smaller than the major-2nd. Here are some examples:

minor-2nd minor-2nd
/ \ / \
C D E F G A B C
s s
minor-2nd = s

In 12-edo, the minor-2nd encompasses 1 of the 12 equal semitones, and in this tuning there is no difference between it and the chromatic semitone. The minor-2nd is thus an interval in the range of 100 cents.

The minor-2nd always involves a change of letter-name and may or may not involve a change of accidental (as opposed to the chromatic semitone, which keeps the same letter-name but always involves a change of accidental). Here are some examples of minor-2nds: